Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) Increases Dividend to $0.60 Per Share

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.60 per share by the aerospace company on Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This is a 20.0% increase from Elbit Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Elbit Systems has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.6% per year over the last three years. Elbit Systems has a dividend payout ratio of 17.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Elbit Systems to earn $8.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.6%.

Elbit Systems Price Performance

ESLT traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $410.60. 283,693 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,216. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.19 and a beta of 0.53. Elbit Systems has a 52-week low of $175.30 and a 52-week high of $416.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.80.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 18th. The aerospace company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Elbit Systems had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 11.34%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Elbit Systems will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Elbit Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Elbit Systems Company Profile

Elbit Systems Ltd. develops and supplies a portfolio of airborne, land, and naval systems and products for the defense, homeland security, and commercial aviation applications primarily in Israel. The company operates through Aerospace, C4I and Cyber, ISTAR and EW, Land, and Elbit Systems of America segments.